Julius James

New England Revolution vs. Columbus Crew - 13/08/11 - [WEEK 22 - HIGHLIGHTS]

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• published: 14 Aug 2011
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COLUMBUS -- The best second-half team in MLS proved their merit again Saturday night, as the Columbus Crew overcame a goal by Benny Feilhaber just before the break with a resounding 3-1 win over New England in Crew Stadium. Columbus (10-7-7, 37 points) remained atop the Eastern Conference with the win, and improved to an impressive 2-0-4 when trailing at the half this season. The loss was the second straight for the Revolution (4-11-9), who coughed up an own goal early in the second half and never recovered while the Crew offense caught fire. The crucial miscue came off the foot of New England defender Kevin Alston in the 54th minute, and Julius James (75th) and a healthy Emilio Rentería (81st) each scored to help Columbus pull away. James got his first goal of the season on a header that he blasted a header into the net after a corner kick from Josh Gardner. Renteria easily scored his fifth of the year on an unmarked finish from six years out after midfielder Robbie Rogers set up the goal. The equalizer came when Alston stuck out a foot to prevent a chip from Andrés Mendoza reaching fellow forward Tommy Heinemann, but the ball flew over the head of onrushing goalkeeper Matt Reis. The Revs came close to regaining the lead in the 62nd minute but a shot by A.J Soares hit underneath the crossbar and came out. Feilhaber stunned the Crew with his second goal of the season just before the break after the Revs were dominated for much of the half. They took the lead when Pat Phelan shirked Sebastian Miranda in the penalty area and sent a roller across to Feilhaber, who got away from Kevin Burns for a well-placed, 18-yard strike past William Hesmer. The Crew, who 26 minutes into the game had 71.3 percent of the possession on a passing accuracy of 82 percent, would have taken the lead in the 39th minute if not for the brilliance of Reis. He lunged to his right to get a hand on a header from eight yards by Chad Marshall after Miranda sent an untouched service from the left side into the box. The ball bounced to the head of Marshall off the hard surface and his flick was targeted for the upper left corner before Reis parried it wide. Mendoza left in the 70th minute with a left leg injury and was replaced by midfielder Dilly Duka in his first appearance since June 4. Both teams had to deal with the loss of starters from their last matches. New England played without midfielder Sainey Nyassi (sprained right MCL) while Crew midfielder Eddie Gaven (right leg contusion) missed his first game of the season. New England host Houston on Aug. 17, while the Crew are home to Philadelphia on Aug. 20.